Entrepreneurs Unpluggd is a speaker series created to share the stories of how entrepreneurs got their start. This month’s event focused on Startup Stages: Launch, Growth and Beyond. Speakers Jason Fried, co-founder of 37signals, Liz Kammel, co-founder of ZipFit Denim and Scott Lerner, co-founder of Solixir shared their top tips for growing your business.
Here's what we learned during the night:
1. Solve the problem before financing the idea
ZipFit started a year ago with a simple mission: to help men shop for jeans. Because Liz Kammel had a math background, she was confident that she could create an algorithm to help them find jeans that fit. She already knew there was a market—it’s widely known that men hate shopping—so Kammel kept her focus on solving the problem before trying to finance her idea.
2. Share your ideas and be flexible
Be flexible and don’t be afraid to pivot when your idea is not working. This worked for ZipFit: originally Kammel envisioned her business as a website, sort of like an Orbitz for jeans. A few pivots later and ZipFit opened it's first retail store. The store has been profitable since day one. She believes that being vocal about her business idea helped her company find success. “Your customers are the ones who need to love your idea so you should welcome their feedback,” she said.
3. Be focused and grow slowly
Jason Fried says the growth of 37signals has been slow and consistent since the launch of Basecamp in 2004. He compares the ideal way for a startup to grow to the growth of a tree. “Grow carefully and slowly, like a tree,” said Fried. 37signals is focused on building simple products and creating a company with longevity and sustainability.
